Automobile operators sometimes park their automobiles and inadvertently leave their pets inside the automobile, particularly in the back seat. Similarly, some automobile owners have been known to inadvertently lock their children in a parked automobile. Likewise, children have been known to inadvertently lock themselves in a parked automobile. If the pet or child is trapped in the automobile for an extended period of time, or during extreme temperatures, the pet or child typically suffers adverse health effects. In at least one instance, a child inadvertently trapped in a parked automobile during extreme temperatures has died.
At least one automobile alarm system protects an automobile from vandalism and burglary. The alarm system sounds an alarm when a locked automobile door is opened without a key. Another known alarm system sounds an alarm upon physical contact with the exterior of a locked automobile. Such alarm systems, while effective for preventing an automobile from vandalism and burglary, do not detect the presence of a person or animal confined within a locked automobile during extreme temperatures.
To increase the safety of a child within a car, safety devices such as car seats have been developed. However, each of the known safety devices is designed to increase a child's safety while the automobile is moving, i.e., during automobile operation. Such devices do not prevent a child from inadvertently being locked in a parked automobile during extreme temperatures.
It would be desirable to provide an apparatus for detecting the presence of a child within a parked automobile during extreme temperatures. It also would be desirable to provide such an apparatus that is simple to fabricate and install in an automobile.